Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Hometowns Await Word of Missing Soldiers

Top: Weary soldiers rest following their part in today's search. Below: Joseph Anzack, Byron Fouty and Alex Jimenez were listed as 'Duty Status: Whereabouts Unknown' following the May 12th attack. A body found in the Euphrates River today may be that of one of the missing. Left: A yellow ribbon is tied to a tree at Byron Fouty's former high scool.

Fear filled Raul Polanco when he awoke to news Wednesday that the body of a missing American soldier had been found floating in the Euphrates River. He dialed his friend, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, whose son is among three soldiers missing.

"Andy, does your son have a tattoo on his hand?" Polanco asked, relaying one of the sparse details of the grisly discovery.

"No," Jimenez replied from New York, where he has been waiting with family for any news about the fate of his son.

From California in the West to Michigan in the heartland and to Massachusetts in the East, similar scenes of anxiety played out as friends and relatives awaited word on the fate of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; Pvt. Byron Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.; and Spc. Alex Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.